Dr. Shuddhananda Bharati

Bhagavad Gita

Universal Vedas

In prose

ASSA Editions Arulchelvam Treasure of Grace Scripture to the world 1025 songs, Emblem – Aum – Pure power “Surrender to god, Render service to mankind”

Recite these songs regularly! They represent the Tamil Vedas: a collection of great sayings by divinely-blessed noble sons of Tamil Nadu. It is a treasure trove of spiritual practices on the lines of the Ramayana. Let this reverber- ate in prayer meetings! Life will flourish; the heart will be uplifted. The country will prosper. Editor’s notes The Upanishads are the essence of the Vedas. The Bhagavad Gita is the essence of all the Upanishads. The Gita gifted by Krishna is the light of Indian ethics. It is a common treatise for mankind. There is no other book which details the way for man to overcome life’s battles and attain supreme bliss so clearly like the Gita. Many people read the Bible in dif- ferent languages and engage in many divine services in the world. In the same way, the Gita should also be read in each person’s mother tongue. The Gita should seep into our lives, we should merge with the Supreme Soul that dwells in everyone and attain the bliss of living as a karma warrior in the world. With this objective in mind, Yogi Sri Suddhananda Bharati has undertaken this translation. Those desirous of the original text and the elaborate commentary may please

- 7 - refer to The Secret of Karma Yoga (Gita Yogam) penned by him. Devotees should gather in a calm frame of mind every day at a specific time and read at least one chapter of this Gita with devotion and meditate for fifteen min- utes on the Supreme Soul in the heart. The Gita’s benefit can be experienced. A warm thank you to Savitri for his translation from Tamil to English and for the help of Magloire Mama for the preparation of the book. It is a real pleasure for me to present Bhagavad Gita to you. We have so much to learn from this drama! Thank you to Dr. Shuddhananda Bharati for having transmitted Bhagavad Gita to us. With the blessing of Aum Shuddha Shakti Aum.

Christian Piaget

- 8 - Courage!

The night is through, The chain of slavery, It is already broken - I am full of courage! Peace in the morning, A golden sun rises Like a lion superhuman To accomplish my dream. A hopeful smile, Docile as a child Who plays in the infinite With a fiery star. My journey is over; I enjoy time; The universe is my nest; Of eternal spring.

- 9 - Peace Anthem

Peace for all, peace for all For all the countries peace Joy for all, joy for all For all the nations joy A rosy morning peace A smiling summer joy (Peace for all) All for each and each for all This is the golden rule Life and Light and Love for all For all that live our love (Peace for all) Work and food and clothes for all Equal status for all Health and home and school for all A happy world for all (Peace for all) No idle rich, no more beggars All are equal workers No more tears, no more fears The heart is full of cheers (Peace for all)

- 10 - No atom scare, no fat mammon No room for war demon Like leaves in trees, like rays in the sun We are one communion, One Divine communion (Peace for all) The good in you is good for all Your life is life for all The God in you is God for all Your love is love for all (Peace for all) For he or she or it or rest This collective life is best This Universal Life is best North or South, or East or West (Peace for all) Peace for plants and birds and beasts For hills and streams and woods Peace in Home - land and air and sea Dynamic peace we see Peace for all, peace for all

Immortal Peace for All

- 11 - Song of Unity

Unite. Unite, Unite, Oh Souls Unite and play your roles Unite in mind, unite in heart Unite in whole, unite in part Like words and tunes and sense in song Let East and West unite and live long Trees are many; the grove is one Branches are many; tree is one Shores are many; sea is one Limbs are many; body is one Bodies are many; self is one Stars are many; sky is one Flowers are many; honey is one Pages are many; book is one Thoughts are many; thinker is one Tastes are many; taster is one Actors are many; the drama is one Nations are many; the world is one Religions are many; Truth is one The wise are many; Wisdom is one Beings are many; breath is one Classes are many; college is one Find out this One behind the many Then life shall enjoy peaceful harmony.

- 12 - Presentation of Dr. Shuddhananda Bharati 11th May 1897 – 7th March 1990 The wise one to the cosmic age Although more than 90 years old, in his school in the south of India, Kavi Yogi Maharishi (great divine visionary, wise poet), Dr.Shuddhananda Bharati worked like a young man of twenty. When he was asked his age, he answered: “My age is Courage!” The Yogi wrote several hundred works in English, French, Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Sanskrit; five thousand songs, and fifteen hundred poems in French. The magnum opus of the man conscious of the presence of God in him, Bharata Shakti, (in 50,000 verses) described his ideal: only One Humanity living in communion with only One God in a transformed world! Bharata Shakti is a monumental and unique work. The Yogi depicts the essence of all the religions, of all the prophets and saints, all the approaches of yoga and all the cultures on an allegorical fabric. It is a book for any age which all spiritual researchers and all nations should read and med- itate on. His commitment is summarized in his book cele- brating his life, Pilgrim Soul. The three poems mentioned in the opening express perfectly his ideal. His mantra, Aum Shuddha Shakti Aum, nourishes our souls and guides our steps toward the inner joy Ananda. It means: The light of Grace and power of the pure supreme Almighty bless us of peace, happiness and prosperity! Let the beauty and greatness of soul of Dr.Shuddhananda Bharati bloom and scent the entire Earth of its divine message and his spiri- tual and unifying benefactor! Editions ASSA

- 13 - Swami Shuddhananda Bharati

- 14 - Aum Bhagavad Gita Vedas of Hindu Ethics

Meditation

O Supreme God who dwells in my heart! May all my breaths be dedicated to you! May my mind, all my words and actions become an offering to you! May my heart become a center of Your love! May my intelligence radiate Your soul’s rays! May my body become Your divine tem- ple! Please shower Your grace so that we may merge with You in wisdom, perceive You with devotion and due to Your energy, become warriors of karma and ambassadors of righteousness in the world. Please give us the strength to withstand all illusory forces that seek to enslave us and to overcome all inimical forces and beat the drum of vic- tory unfettered in our battle of life and move forward; may all the demons of lust, anger, illusion, destructive demons of desire and arrogance, demons of jealousy and preten- tious movements based on caste, religion, country and color that seek to divide and destroy the world turn tail and disappear in the face of our pure, harmonious and lib- erating energy. May we be blessed with the power of yoga like Krishna and valor like Arjuna so that we may become super human beings and render service to make the home, country, the world and mankind happy. Please bestow Your grace so that we may eradicate all unrighteous forces and surrender ourselves to You who dwells in our hearts

- 15 - and with our heads held high in liberty become Your war- riors of karma, devotion and wisdom. God, You are our refuge, You are mother, father, brother, near and dear, guru and God. We do not exist without You. Life is a Kurukshetra, a battlefield of three attributes; the ethical forces and unrighteous demonic forces are engaged in a battle on it. Dharmaputhra represents the righteous force. Duryodhana and his coterie represent the unrighteous forces. Krishna as the omnipresent witness makes use of Arjuna as the means to completely eradicate the unrighteous forces and establish the rule of righteous- ness. This is the essence of the Gita. The Gita is our Veda. May its principles and divine secret permeate our life! May we be blessed with pure spiritual intelligence, spiri- tual service and spiritual unity with the Supreme Soul and become perfect human beings endowed with divine qualities. Please shower Your grace so we may remain spellbound in the music of Your flute and carry out the command of Your Panchajanyam that drives the chariot of the soul in the battlefield of life as true soldiers! We are reading the Gita in this state of mind. We surrender to You. Om Tat Sat!

- 16 - I. Vishaada Yoga (Yoga of dejection of Arjuna) 1. Kurushethra (I: 1-25) Dhrithrashtra’s query: Sanjaya, my progeny and the Pandavas who have gath- ered to engage in a battle on the righteous field of Kuruk- shetra, what are they doing? Sanjaya’s reply: Surveying the Pandavas’ army drawn up in battle array, King Duryodhana approaches Dronacharya and says: “Acharya! Look at this Pandava army drawn up by your esteemed student Dhrishtadhyumna! There are great archers, warriors such as Bheem, Arjuna, Yuyadhaanan, Veeradan, great charioteer Raja Dhrupad, Dhrishtaketu, Seghidhaanan, Veeriyavaan, Kasiraja, Purujeeth, Kunthib- hojan, Narapungavan, Saipyan, brave Udhamanyu, dynamic Utthamaujan, Abhimanyu and other Pandavas who are all great charioteers.” O Pride of Brahmins! Know also the principal warriors on our side: I am listing the army chiefs for your information: You, Bheeshma, Karna, battle winner Kirupa, also other warriors such as Aswathama, Vikarna, Somadathan’s son Purisravan who are highly skilled in handling weapons and war strategy are all standing by me ready to sacrifice their lives. They are all war veterans. The strength of our army under the protection of Bheeshma is invincible.

- 17 - Their army guarded by Bheem can be easily conquered. All of you must adhere strictly to your positions in the army divisions and resolve to protect Bheeshma. Bheeshma was an old Kaurava, grandfather, elderly man, musician; like a roaring lion he blew on the Urumi conch in order to please Duryodhana. Thereafter conches, drums, small drums, blowing horns and trumpets were sounded all at once. That loud noise evoked great fear. Then Krishna and the Pandavas who were seated in a big chariot drawn by white horses blew the divine conches. Krishna blew the Panchajanyam, Arjuna sounded the Deva- dattham, the mighty Bheem who induced fear amongst his enemies blew the huge conch Poundiram, Kunthi’s son Dharmaraja his Anandavijayam, Nakulan Sukosham and Sahadevan Manipushpam. O King! The great archer Kasir- ajan, the great charioteer Sikandi, Dhrishtadhyumna, Dhru- pad, Draupadi’s offspring and the valorous Abhimanyu blew their respective conches. The tremendous noise that ensued reverberated from the earth and reached the skies. The war had begun! It was the moment when the arrows were to be unleashed; raising their flag carrying the image of Hanuman, Vijayan stood up and looked at Dhrithrash- tra’s army; he picked up his bow... Looking towards Krishna, Vijayan uttered the following words: Achutha! Please halt my chariot between the two armies; I wish to see those thirsting for war. I need to see those with whom I should engage in battle on this battle- field. I must find out who are those warriors that have joined forces with the evil Duryodhana out of affection for him.

- 18 - Acceding to the request of the sleepless warrior, Krishna propelled the divine chariot in front of the armies led by Bheeshma, Dronacharya and other kings and told Arjuna to look at the Kauravas’ assembly.

2. Warrior’s weariness (26-47) Partha looked! There standing in the two armies were fathers, grandfathers, gurus, uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, friends, in-laws, friends! Looking at all the relatives, Kunthi’s son was overcome with compassion and spoke thus: Krishna! As I look at my near and dear ones who are ready to do battle here my limbs are faltering. My mouth is drying up. My body is trembling. I have goosebumps. The Kan- deeva is slipping from my hands. The body feels on fire, the mind is in a whirl. I am unable to stand. Kesava! I see cruel portents. I fail to see the benefits of killing my near and dear. Krishna! I do not want victory, kingdom or a comfort- able life. Govinda! What can one hope to achieve with a kingdom, the pleasures of luxury and life? Those for whom we desire a kingdom, the pleasures of life and happiness - preceptors, elderly family members, grandfathers, sons, grandsons, uncles, in-laws, nephews, relatives - all of them have turned their backs on life and assets and are standing here on the battlefield. Madhusudana! Even if I am killed or if I am shown the three worlds, I should not like to kill these people. Should I kill for the sake of an earthly kingdom? Janardhana! What happiness could we savour if we kill this army of Dhrithrashtra? On the contrary, by killing these

- 19 - sinners we would also turn into sinners. Thus it is unjusti- fied to kill these members of Dhrithrashtra’s family who are related to us. Madhava! Can one experience happiness by killing one’s near and dear? It is this group which has been blinded by cupidity and is unable to see the harmful conse- quences of destroying the lineage and the great sin of betraying one’s friends. Janardhana! We who are aware of the harm in destroying one’s family, should we wilfully commit this sin? Achutha! The destruction of the lineage leads to the corruption of ancient family ethics. When ethics are corrupted, the entire lineage falls prey to unrighteous- ness. Krishna! Varshaneya! If unrighteousness increases, then the women in the family will be corrupted. If women are corrupted, then caste confusions are created. Due to this confusion, both the family and those who harm the family are subjected to hell. They are degraded owing to lack of manes of ancestors and non-performance of duties to the manes of ancestors. Owing to the actions of these evildoers, the omnipresent family ethics and caste ethics are destroyed. Janardhana! We have heard that people whose family ethics are destroyed are condemned to perpetual sojourn in hell. In our quest for a kingdom and accompany- ing pleasures, we are seeking to kill our near and dear ones and thereby commit a great sin - oh, what a situation! If I do not engage in this war and do not take up arms and I am killed by Dhrithrashtra’s army, it would be a good thing. After speaking these words, Arjuna lowered the Kandeeva that was loaded with an arrow and withdrew to the back of the chariot with a heavy heart. End of Vishaada Yoga

- 20 - II. Sangya Yoga (Yoga of knowledge) 3. I am a disciple (II:1-10) Sanjaya continues the narration: Looking at Arjuna who was overcome with emotion and observing the tears of sorrow flowing from his eyes, Mad- husudana uttered the following words: To exhibit such mental agitation on a battlefield? Arjuna! This shows a lack of excellence, it is cowardly, it is an obstacle on your path to heaven, il will bring you dishon- our. Partha! Do not become an impotent person, it is unbe- coming of you. This is demeaning, a weakness of the mind; get rid of it and stand up, Partha! ______

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